Quirks of practicing medicine in the bush...
What would you do if you drove and hour into the bush, there is already a crowd of people waiting for you, and you realize that something is broken, forgotten, resources need to be stretched, or you simply just don't have something you need? Susan and I find ourselves making up all kinds of creative ideas in practicing medicine. :)
Taking blood pressure without a cuff
drinking without a cup
Saving extra Sodium Chloride we knew a child would not need before inserting an IV
Our nebulizer is finicky, so Susan rigged this steamer up right onto the O2 tank to help a child breathe
We have a sterilizer that utilizes a pressure cooker/steaming action to sterilize instruments... and anything else we need to clean well. It uses an outside heating source to cause a small amount of water inside to boil.
We try our best to clean (and we sterilize) our microscope slides and cover slips
The delee suction is sort of a low-technology equipment that allows us to suction patients, but has a catch in the middle so we don't suck up whatever we are suctioning!
I use a donated air mat or a folded up tarp with a chitenge (cloth) over it for my patients to lie down on the cement floor at mobile clinics.
We buy a lot of bulk medicine and we also find that the amount of medicine that comes in some bottles is way too much for children and can be shared. So, we have tried all manner of bottles, baggies, and containers to give medicine to people in small amounts without them leaking. Right now we use plastic jars, lined with a plastic bag which the lid screws over for extra tightness... they still leak sometimes! We also measure out our own dry medicines into medicine bags and try to give good instructions. :)
Oops, forgot the scale!
My personal favorite- a hemoglobin color scale- you match the color of people's blood to determine anemia.
Taking blood pressure without a cuff
drinking without a cup
Saving extra Sodium Chloride we knew a child would not need before inserting an IV
Our nebulizer is finicky, so Susan rigged this steamer up right onto the O2 tank to help a child breathe
We have a sterilizer that utilizes a pressure cooker/steaming action to sterilize instruments... and anything else we need to clean well. It uses an outside heating source to cause a small amount of water inside to boil.
We try our best to clean (and we sterilize) our microscope slides and cover slips
The delee suction is sort of a low-technology equipment that allows us to suction patients, but has a catch in the middle so we don't suck up whatever we are suctioning!
I use a donated air mat or a folded up tarp with a chitenge (cloth) over it for my patients to lie down on the cement floor at mobile clinics.
We buy a lot of bulk medicine and we also find that the amount of medicine that comes in some bottles is way too much for children and can be shared. So, we have tried all manner of bottles, baggies, and containers to give medicine to people in small amounts without them leaking. Right now we use plastic jars, lined with a plastic bag which the lid screws over for extra tightness... they still leak sometimes! We also measure out our own dry medicines into medicine bags and try to give good instructions. :)
Oops, forgot the scale!
My personal favorite- a hemoglobin color scale- you match the color of people's blood to determine anemia.
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on Tuesday, December 18, 2007 at 6:22 AM.
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